Eliza Skipton, 1880

A notebook belonging to Eliza Skipton (d. 1909) of 56 Clarendon Street, Londonderry. A note on the verso of the first page is dated February 23rd, 1880. The contents trace Skipton’s genealogy on her father’s side, providing biographical details and clippings from letters and documents with each individual’s signature. Only the first 13 pages of the book are used: the first bears a heraldic bookplate for Eliza’s father Pitt Kennedy Skipton (1797-1877), with a detailed explanation of its symbols and meaning. The third page contains clippings with the signatures of Skipton’s great grandfather William Kennedy (1713-1783), great grandmother Easter Kennedy (1721-1792), and grandfather George Crookshank Kennedy (1752-1819). The fourth and fifth pages contain copious information on Thomas Skipton of Skipton Hall, Beech Hill (b. circa 1752-1802), George’s cousin and brother-in-law. Two signatures of Thomas Skipton are included. George subsequently assumed the name Skipton, and the sixth and seventh pages relate to that, including comparing signatures from before and after the name change. Page 9 contains a clipping from a letter written from George Skipton to his daughter Sarah Crookshank (to which she has later added the date), three clippings from a letter written by Eliza’s grandmother Sarah McCausland Skipton (1759-1823) to her son Pitt Skipton, and two clippings from Eliza’s uncle George Kennedy. Page 11 contains signatures from Eliza’s uncles Connolly McCausland Kennedy Skipton (1778-1854) and Alexander Skipton (1795-1858), as well as her father. The final page contains a clipping featuring a signature from Edward H. Cooper, though his relationship to the Skipton family is unknown. The notebook itself is bound in black, perhaps coated cloth, with a gilt stamped title: Special Thanksgiving Fund. A Book of Subscriptions for the Completion of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul 1872.” The paper is printed with lines as in a ledger or receipt book.